"Sure." Ethan kissed the top of my head and left the room while Mason started rummaging around the kitchen; pots and pans clanged together, and then he pulled out a giant piece of steak.

"I hope that's not for me." I pointed.

"Protein…" He threw the steak into the pan. "…feeds the blood, which feeds the mate, which, in turn, feeds you."

"You gonna start singing Circle of Life?" I joked.

"Circle of life?" he repeated.

"Lion King?"

"Cassius is king."

I looked helplessly to Stephanie, who was trying to hide her smile behind her hand.

"Have you seriously never watched Lion King?"

"Werewolves are scared of TV," Stephanie said with a soft laugh.

"And sirens are afraid of the dark," he fired back, while she shuddered. "I'm not afraid of the TV. I just don't see the point in sitting in front of a flat box and watching people make fools of themselves."

"He'd rather be the fool." Stephanie nodded and winked in my direction.

"Mason…" I walked over to him and put my head on his shoulder. "How about I eat the steak and we watch Lion King?"

"No."

"Dances with Wolves?"

Stephanie snickered loudly behind her hand.

"Wolves do not dance," Mason growled.

"Oh, we know." Stephanie nodded. "I've seen it once. Don't care to see it again."

"Too much whiskey." Mason kissed the top of my head. "Eat the whole steak, and then we'll talk about King Lion."

"Lion King."

"Same thing."

I sighed helplessly and went to sit at the table while Mason cooked.

Stephanie gave me a side hug. "Eight tomorrow morning, alright?"

"Great."

"Bed." She shrugged. "It's been a long night." Her eyes misted again.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Her voice cracked. "Like Alex said, we get emotional. Can't help it."

It felt like she was lying, but I was human, how would I know? I nodded and turned my attention back to Mason, who'd started searing the steak.

"So you cook meat but refuse to eat it?"

"I'm a vegetarian." He smiled. I'd never realized how pointy his teeth were on the sides. Maybe that's how he'd been able to bite into me before Ethan had mated with me.

Mason rolled his eyes. "I didn't say it was natural for me to be a vegetarian."

"Okay… so why?"

He let out a heavy sigh. "Meat made my mate sick… for one reason or another. It gave her headaches. She only ate fruits, vegetables, nuts." He flipped the steak. "So I learned to like other foods."

"And now?"

He went very quiet, his eyes focusing in on the steak. "Now…" His voice was hoarse. "I honor her with my every meal."

My throat clogged with emotion.

The fact that he honored her at all — but with every single meal — killed me. How did he survive that? How did he live every day having known true love? And know he may never experience it again — living forever?

"I'm a perfectionist." Mason held up his hands. "Let the juices seal."

Ethan scrunched up his nose. "Her blood tastes better than that steak."

"Yes, well, her blood tastes good because she's living. She's living because I feed her."

"Werewolf has a point," I teased. "Besides, if I eat my whole steak, we're going to watch Lion King!"

"Whose king?" Ethan tilted his head. "What lion? Mason's a wolf."

And that's how I ended up spending my evening between a vampire and a werewolf, eating steak and watching a Disney movie while they argued over the animal kingdom, not to mention the lion's choice in song.

It felt right.

Like I'd finally found my place.

My home.

I had no idea that the security I felt was about to get ripped from me, from the very people I'd put my trust in.

ABOUT RACHEL VAN DYKEN:

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

I'm a fan of Rachel Van Dyken and an even bigger fan of paranormal so this book was a no brainer for me. I didn't really know what to expect going in but I've got to say I really enjoyed it and pretty much devoured it in one sitting.

Genesis is a human girl and has spent all of her life being prepared for the possibility that she would be called by the immortal council. When she is called, however, she soon discovers that everything she has been taught to believe is pretty much a lie as she is thrust into a position that she could never have foreseen.

I liked the back story behind this. It was original and different from the norm. I liked that all the information was not released at once and you were kept guessing for a lot of the story. I've been lucky enough to study English lit to a higher level and you are taught to basically rip apart a plot and look for details so I normally see plot twists coming a mile off. There is a seriously cool twist towards the end of this and I have to say that, even though I did know one was coming, I didn't pan at all as I expected. This book deserves 5 stars for that reason alone lol. It's been a very long time since I honestly haven't had a clue what's going to come next and it was awesome. I take my hat off to Rachel Van Dyken for her skill at plot weaving.

There were a host of good, well developed characters in this and a plethora of paranormal species. We have Vampires, Werewolves, Sirens and even Angels. They were all strong characters each displaying their own uniqueness.

The story was written well. I love this authors style of writing. It's fast and edgy but distinctly hers. There was high emotion and some suspense but also humour as well. I was immediately sucked in and was sorry to finish.

All in all a great start to a new series. I would recommend this to fans of paranormal and even though that aren't. Hey! Come over to the dark side. You don't know what you're missing ;o)